ORLANDO, Fla. — An Alabama man accused of camping out on a shuttered Disney World island has been fined $100 and banned from the Florida theme park for life.
The Orlando Sentinel reports 42-year-old Richard McGuire pleaded no contest to trespassing under a plea agreement in Orange County, Florida.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies found McGuire on Disney’s abandoned Discovery Island in April. All Disney parks and resorts were closed at the time due to COVID-19.
Body camera video from Orange County sheriff's deputies released in September showed the moments when McGuire's camping adventure came to an end earlier this year.
McGuire, originally from Mobile, Alabama, said he didn’t hear numerous deputies searching the private island for him and told a deputy he didn't know it was a restricted area, despite “no trespassing” signs.
While all Disney parks were closed for about four months this year because of the pandemic, Discovery Island has not been open since 1999. The park, which sits in the middle of a lake, was home to animal exhibits and walking trails before Disney shut it down.
RELATED: 'It looked like a tropical paradise': Man arrested for trespassing on private Disney island
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